Improvement in car-starters



wmGHT 11 WANDELLI4 Car Starter.

JN0. 111,294. Patented 1an. 24, 1871.

N PETERS` Pmlmmgmphen wnhingxn. D. C.

FINLEY J. WRIGHT VAND LI VINGSTON W. WANDELL, yOF NEW YORK. N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-STARTERS.

'.lfhevsehedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same To all whomy it may concern:V A

Be it known that` we, FINLEY J. WRIGHT and LIVINGSTON W. WANDELL, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-oar Starters; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full description of the saine.

The nature of our invent-ion consists in combining with the coupling-rod, or hook-bar to which the horses are attached, a self-acting spring-latch, so that when the horses first draw against.l the car it will engage into the spring-latch and draw that forward at the.' saine time, and thus, by means of a connectingfrod, opera-te a pawl and ratchet-wheel on the. axle-of the front set of car-wheels to start the car forward, before the full force of the horses is exerted to overcome the inertia of the car.

But to describe our invention more particularly we will refer to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, thesanie letters of reference wherever they occur referring to like parts.

vFigure 1 is a plan view of the-truck, with the apparatus attached thereto. Y

Figure` 2 is a longitudinal section of the saine,

through the line-xx, iig. 1. I

Figure 3 is the same, with the coupling-rod drawn out and the pawl engaged in the ratchet-wheel starter.v

Figure 4 is a detached plan view of the working part of the apparatus, seen when the flooring ofI the truck is removed.

Figure 5 is a detached View of the spring-latch. p Letter A represents the truck-frame, and

B, the car-wheels, secured on axles C and D and suitable bearings to the truck-frame.'

On thetforward axle C is secured a ratchet-wheel, E, vwhich is acted upon by apawl, F, secured to a lever, G, working loosely beside the ratchet-wheel and on the axle G.

Tfthc upper end of the lever G is attached by a joint a connecting-rod, H, which, at its opposite end, is joined by a hinge to the end of' a sliding ,Spring-latch, 1.

This latch is composed of a sliding plate and a l'hnged latch-plate, if which is kept distended or in contact with the catch It o nV the starter-plate J by means of a spring K, arranged hetwecn'the ends 'ot' the plates I and t.

By means of the guide-ways L it is secured to a bed-plate, M, attached to the lower side of the liooring of thevcar, so as to work longitudinally.

To react it, whcnreleased from the starter-plate, a spiral spring, N, or other suitable device, is arranged on the hedplate M in such a position lalongside of the spring-latch that a projection on it will comY press the spring, when drawn forward, till released from the starter-plate, when it will rea-ct, and thus set the pawl back on the ratchet-wheel ready for a which extends out through an opening in the center of the front rail of the truck-frame, and terminates in a hook, U, to which the horses are to he attached to draw thecar.

Letter Vis a reacting spring securedupon the coupling-rod so as to act againstthe inside of the front rail of the truck-frarne that, when the horses slack up, after first starting the car, the rod will be retracted till stopped by the washer W against the outer face of the front rail of the truck-frame.

This washer is also intended to operate as a catch to engage into a spring foot-latch, X, secured Von the front end of the truck, so that, till released by the foot of the carfdriver at the time of starting, the draft of the horses will be entirely against the washer and latch, and thus avoid any ,strain on the reacting springs or starting apparatus.

llhe operation of the starter is as follows a When the car is at rest the coupling-rod is retracted, as shown in iig. 2, and the foot-latch X is upon the catch or washer W, at the saine time the pawl is relieved from the ratchet-wheel and prevented `from falling back too far by a stopplatc, Y, while thecatch R, on the starter-plate, is engaged in the spring-latcli t2, so 'as to connect the same with the coupling-rod.

40n starting t-hc horses the driver presses his foot upon the foot-latch X, and thus allows the coupling-rod to draw forward, as shown in tig. 3.

By this operation the pawl is made to engage into the ratchet-wheel and the whole car rolled forward or started in motion, by which time the sliding' spring-latch rides up thc .in'clined face of the cani l and unlatches it from the catch It on the starterplate, and thus transfers the entire draft to the coupling-1'od, which, on the least slack-up of the horses,.retraets and is caught and held by the footlateh, ready for a repetition of the same operation.

anni @fine 'Having now described our improvement :nid its 3.' The combination of the starter-plate J, lmd operations, we will proceed t0 set forth what we claim spring-latch I und li2, with the pmvl F and ratchetzmd desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United wheel E, for the purposes and operations substantial- States. ly :is herenbcfore set fort-h.

1. The combination of the coupling-rod T, starter- FINLEY J. WRIGHT-L plate J and catch R, with the sliding spring-latch I LIVINGSTON \V. VANDELL. und i2, for the purposes and operating,r substantially as hereinbeforeI described. Witnesses:

2.' The combination of the spring-latch l and t, CHARLES J.BAR1 .1TT, with the wedge-shaped cam Il?, for the purposes and FRANKLlN BARRITT.

operations substantially its hereiubeforc set forth. 

